On July 2, Max Goddard, 15, was involved in an explosion in his garage that left him with third-degree burns on 30 percent of his body. Now the community has rallied around the young man from Alpine.
"At 1:50 p.m. on July 2, 2014, we heard a bang and a scream in the garage. Aunt Lorene was washing dishes at the kitchen sink. She saw Max run out of the garage door and shouted, 'Max is on fire!’ ” the Goddard family posted on a blog now dedicated to their son's updates.
"Markus opened the door and I saw Max walking with his shirt and hair in flames into the house. I patted some flames out as he walked down the back hall and Lorene threw a bowl of water on him in the kitchen. He went to the kitchen sink where we ran his hands under water. His face and most of his hair was singed. The whole time, he kept saying, 'I’m sorry, mom and dad. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m going to be fine.’ ”
Max, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was then given a priesthood blessing before his parents, Andy and Natalie Goddard, took him to the American Fork Hospital, the family explained on their blog. From there, Max was Life-Flighted to the University of Utah Hospital to be treated at the Burn Center.